TV Drama Review #80 - Koi ni Ochitara~boku no seikou no himitsu~ 我成功的秘密

How long? 11 epis
When & which tv stn? 2005/Fuji TV
Who's in?
Kusanagi Tsuyoshi ~ Suzuki Shimao
Tsutsumi Shinichi ~ Takayanagi Toru
Matsushita Nao ~ Shirakawa Kaori
Yamamoto Koji ~ Ando Ryuta
Kimura Yoshino ~ Suzuki Mariko
Wakui Emi ~ Kirino Nanami
Tanihara Shosuke ~ Riku Kamiya
What's it abt? (edited from Wikipedia)
Since his father passed away six years ago, Suzuki Shimao has taken over the family business, working diligently at their factory with his mother Aiko and a couple of employees. Though not wealthy, Shimao, Aiko, and Shimao's sister Mariko are satisfied with their life.
One day, Shimao draws a raffle at a local shopping mall and wins a trip for two to Hawaii. He takes his mother, and there he meets a beautiful girl Kaori and a young and brilliant entrepreneurial president of Frontier, Takayanagi. Shimao immediately falls in love with Kaori, who has a friendly and warm personality.
Shimao and Aiko returned home and found their factory in chaos. The accountant has embezzled the company's money, causing them to go bankrupt. Aiko develops a heart disease and is hospitalized. She needs a heart transplant, but the Suzukis can't afford the medical costs. Before Shimao can come up with a way to clear their debts, Aiko passed away. That's when Shimao remembers what Toru told him in Hawaii. "When you're in trouble, come to me." The following day, Shimao finds himself standing in front of the towering building where Frontier is based.
Loves & hates:
A typical Japanese drama showing how a person finds his way to success and what he faced during the process. Well, though the title is "When I Fall in Love", this drama is not really focused on Suzuki's love life. So, the romance part was kinda...plain. Haha..so what's so nice abt it? Actually, the whole drama is abt Suzuki...who wanna become rich and leave poverty. Initially, he's a caring and kind fella who completes the tasks with his principles in life. Soon, other colleagues were kinda impressed by him, but Suzuki fell into the "trap" of becoming biz-minded. He felt the joy of becoming rich and powerful...but forgot all his principles. Now...he's just like Takayanagi, who has lost his company and fell from the top to the bottom.
So...the plot is pretty simple, but it's quite captivating...coz' u wld be curious how Suzuki had changed...and what happened when he fell from the top...Butta, I am not interested in his romance leh. Haha!
Kusanagi from Smap gave a splendid performance here. You cld clearly see the change of Suzuki - the way he talk and the way he behave. However, I dont feel much chemistry b/w him and Matsushita...Well..that gal was pretty average in terms of acting and besides the height difference, they don't seem to match somehow.
Tsutsumi and Wakui!!! Love their 1996 drama "Pure"...It's so nice to see them again in the same drama. Though Wakui's Nanami was Takayanagi's ex-girlfriend, she still cared alot for him..and I am glad they are somehow back together again. Perfect chemistry! Haha! Tsutsumi gave a good performance here too...his chemistry w/ Kusanagi was good ya...like to see them "battle". Haha!
How can i miss out the themesong by Crystal Kay.."Koi ni Ochitara"...super nice!
Worth watching?
Wld reco to Jdrama lovers...hopefully u wont find it boring. It's not boring to me tho..haha! That's what i like abt Jdrama...even tho it may not be focusing on romance, it's still nice to watch. (guessed i have said upteen times before...hehe!)

TV Drama Review #61 - Ooku-War of the Belles-大奥~华之乱

Episodes: 10 + 1 special

Yr of telecast/TV Stn: 2005/FujiTV

Main Cast:

Uchiyama Rina - Yasuko

Tanihara Shosuke - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi

Koike Eiko - Oden no kata

Takaoka Saki - Emonnosuke

Kitamura Kazuki - Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu

Kanjiya Shihori - Someko

Fujiwara Norika - Nobuko

Summary: (edited from jdorama.com)

During the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi's era, Ooku was completely controlled by the Shogun's mother, Keishoin. Oden-no-kate who was Keishoin's favourite concubine gave birth to Shogun's two children, Tokumatsu & Tsuruhime. However, her family background was poor and was looked down by Shogun's first lady Nobuko.

Tsunayoshi's official wife, Nobuko - who came from the famous Takatsukasa Family in Kyoto - has no children yet. Coming from a very noble family, Nobuko always stands against Keishoin and Oden-no-kata, both who come from average households. Tsunayoshi had two close advisors that he trusted very much: Narisada Makino and Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa. The story begins when Tsunayoshi visited Narisada's house one day and wanted his married daughter Yasuko to become his concubine. Yasuko was forced to divorce with her husband and later she became the shogun's favourite concubine, replacing Oden. Oden saw her as a enemy while Nobuko tried to get Yasuko into her camp against Oden. Unfortunate things happened one after another after Yasuko was pregnant with Shogun's child Chomaru.

Comments: 3rd and final instalment of the "Ooku" series. This time round the main focus was on the concubines la, the rivalry was more intense than the previous 2 series. However, the best part was the starter of this whole range of rivalry was actually Yanagisawa, who was trying to gain power. Plot wise was quite interesting, slightly better than "Ooku" but the romance factor lost to "Ooku Chap 1". The first 2 epis were quite "shocking" or rather, unacceptable. Refering to what the Shogun did to his past servant Aguri, who was Yasuko's mum.

Acting wise, u get great performances from most of the actors, even the "viewership rating poison" Fujiwara Norika did a gd job as the "insane Nobuko" coz' u cld feel her hatred and agony of being the only lady who cant bear children la. The only fella I didnt like was Koike who acted as Oden. Firstly, her face looked super weird and she always stared at other ppl. Only when she was fighting and crying then i cld enjoyed her "loosen up" expression. She's famous for her "excellent figure" butta her acting didnt quite convince me. Tanihara was ok too, but then the shogun's character development wasnt that much compared to Uchiyama's Yasuko. Uchiyama..after "Good Luck", didnt have much chance to see her acting la. Like her performance lo, though sometimes her expression was kinda "stagnant". Wanna mention Takaoka, super graceful and elegant lady sia. Like to listen to her conversation with other cast, dunno why her voice was so nice la. Lolz!

There's one part i was a little confused was on whether Keishoin was Gyoku who appeared in "Ooku Chap 1"-Lady Oman's maid..she was such a kind person there la, but a horrible mother in this series. Really cant accept her change lo...later i checked and quite cfm that she's Gyoku la. Haiz...in the end she also became the typical mothers who were only concern about the successor of the Shogun's line.

Ost was still as nice as ever, and gotta mention Tokyo Jihen's "Shuraba"-themesong la. The title is just perfect for the drama lo. If u have been an Ooku fan, cannot miss this drama k? Also, u will find many support cast who had acted in the other 2 series la...haha!

Havent watch the special leh...it's about the concubines' past, Tsuyonashi and Yanagisawa's past(which led to why Yanagisawa wanna take revenge on the Shogun).

Ratings: 8.5/10 (Gou Xin Dou Jiao...nobody wld be the final winner..And Ooku is still the prison of women)

TV Drama Review #41 - Gokusen 2 极道女鲜师2

Episodes: 10 + 1 Special
Yr of telecast/TV Stn: 2005/NTV
Main Cast:
Nakama Yukie ~ Yamaguchi Kumiko
Akanishi Jin ~ Yabuki Hayato
Kamenashi Kazuya ~ Odagiri Ryu
Hayami Mokomichi ~ Tsuchiya Hikaru
Koike Teppei ~ Takeda Keita
Summary: It's a new drama without much links from Gokusen1. So dont worry if u havent watch G1 before. Yamaguchi Kumiko, the 4th generation heir of Oedo Family ( a yakuza family which literally mean Gangster) went to a prestigious all-boys high school to teach the most horretic class 3D. The class was full of punks and troublesome kids who had no aims in life and were seen as delinquents by their school. Kumiko has to ensure that they could successfully graduate from high sch in 3 mths time. Just as everyone gave up hope on them, see how Kumiko teaches them in her unique way and how she bonds with the class.
Comments: I havent catch the 1st instalment Gokusen yet, the cast was 90% different, except for the headmaster, Kumiko & her family, and Kuma. Basically, Yankumi (her nickname) wont exist in the reality world, sad to say. Teachers dont have so much time to handle so many problems. Her tectiques, her style...may be would only exist in mangas, but that's ok.
The plot was really fun, though it gets typical whenever Yankumi came to save her precious kids from being hit by other punks. Well, the storyline was quite standard, Yankumi would saved her students from trouble and also they would realised her secret(abt her background). It's quite fun to see how the kids accepted her as she proved to them that she's different from other teachers. Though it may be untrue to say this, the Japanese edu system is really problematic in some ways. Status can do anything, and the sch president and teachers were very afraid to get into trouble etc. It reflected something on their edu system...or maybe even other countries.
Yankumi is really a "zheng yi lao shi", holding up justice and values. This character was cute as well, like how she reacted when she saw Kujo sensei, whom she liked. Nakama was really perfect in acting Yankumi. Though she may looked old-fashioned with her sports attire and specs, she really has this unique personality. Her students were cute enough too. I bet many ppl are watching for Akanishi & Kame from pop grp Kat-tun. Hehehe! Their performance was great, though their characters dont need them to have excellent acting. I found Odagiri & Takeda abit niang though, esp Takeda, with those hairpins on his hairs..aiyo eh!
The whole cast was excellent, nothing to fault them. And i really enjoyed to see the headmaster as well. His expressions were exaggerating, but u wont be sick of him la.
The sound effects were quite funny though. This drama is one of the "noisiest" drama i've ever seen. Do look out when the headmaster and Yankumi talk or their movements, it's really cute la. Finally, the themesong by D-51 from Okinawa.."no more cry". Not bad lo~
Ratings: 8.5/10 (I would catch Gokusen 1 someday...nice & touching drama.)

TV Drama Review #40 - Anego

Episodes: 10 + 1 special
Yr of telecast/TV Stn: 2005/NTV
Main Cast:
Shinohara Ryoko ~ Noda Naoko
Akanishi Jin ~ Karasawa Akihiko
Tomosaka Rie ~ Sawaki Eriko
Kato Masaya ~ Sawaki Soichi
Summary: Naoko Noda, who works in a trading company, is called “anego” which means "big sister" and it was started by a new employee Kurosawa. Naoko, 32, works in the corporate strategy division. She is single, and has been working hard for 10 years. She finally met this guy who saved her in the train, but he happened to be her former ex-colleague Eriko's husband. Naoko seemed to be happy and successful on the outside, but deep inside she yearned to get married and was worried about her future. Kurosawa began to fall for Anego, but difficulties set in as they were 10 yrs old apart, and Kurosawa didnt want to get marry at 22.
This drama, through the main character, portrays the everyday life of working women realistically; what they are really thinking, the problems they face, and how they do their best to survive in this world.
Comments: A typical Japanese drama talking about OL lives, but I liked their way of presentation, coz' it is close to our daily lives. The plot is quite funny, especially the interactions b/w Kurosawa & Noda. There are some side lines beside them whenever they had some conversation, which actually showed what they were thinking inside their hearts. It's really cute. The plot also includes another side story about Eriko, her husband liked Noda and she became the 3rd party between the couple.
Shinohara has been very famous since this drama and her acting was really ichiban! Noda is not a perfect character, but who is not flawless right? Many people would start to pity Kurosawa coz' of Noda's actions towards him. But think again? if you're the woman who was 10 yrs older than the guy, wld u wait 5 yrs for him to become successful? Up to individual la..
Akanishi Jin from Kat-tun is also famous after "Gokusen 2". He did pretty well here, looked much more mature too. I guessed more gals who follow this drama for him, instead of our Anego la..hahaha! Tomosaka Rie is finally back with a good drama. I couldnt remember when was the last time i had watched her drama, perhaps in "Kindaichi Files". She's no longer the little gal i knew la, now she acted as a mum, a wife who's kinda mad at times...She has really matured alot and her acting was convincing too. The supporting cast was wonderful too! Bravo~
Check out the themesong "Kiss or Kiss" by Kitade Nana...super nice song!
Ratings: 9/10 (OL dramas rock! Btw, the ending is not epi 10 but the special when Kurosawa return from Mongolia...too bad Youtube dont have the full version..arrghhh..)

TV Drama Review #33 - Chakushin Ari 鬼来电

Episodes: 10
Yr of telecast/TV Stn: 2005/TV Asahi
Main Cast:
Kikukawa Rei as Nakamura Yumi
Ishiguro Ken as Sendou
Summary:Yumi, a writer of a science magazine witnessed a mysterious death of a high school girl who received a “one missed call” from her own cell phone, two weeks in the future.It was a phonecall which could forecast how the phone owner would die. Later, she was transfered to Tokumei Watch, a department for "no future" employees in the company. Together with senior policeman Sendou, they soon discovered the true secrets of this "one missed call" curse and what really happened to her twin sister Ami, who had disappeared 10 yrs ago.
Comments: Adopted from the movie version, the drama version was known to be much better than the original. The drama is revealing bits and bits of clues every episode, making you curious what would happened next, what really happened & how everything linked up. Though it could be quite confusing becoz it was like 2 seperate cases going on at the same time. What do i mean by it? The phonecall curse and the disappearance of Ami. Hahaha! That ringtone could really sounds eerie at times la, too bad cant get hold of it. Lolz! The plot was really not bad, way better than "The Ring"'s drama version. Only problem was i found the drama pace abit slow. Maybe some people may find the drama having too many twists & turns, but to me, that's the best part coz' it's out of my expectations.
Acting wise, it's quite alright for both Kikukawa & Ishiguro. The only "so so " acting was from the bunch of Mei Wa students...japanese teens can be really bitchy ne. Hahaha!
Finally, the ending episode would be quite a surprise to most of you. You wont be able to expect it.
Ratings: 8.5/10 (It's not scary enough...lol!)

TV Drama Review #29 - Engine 引擎

Episodes:11
Yr of telecast/TV station: 2005/FujiTV
Main Cast:
Kimura Takuya as Kanzaki Jiro
Koyuki as Mizukoshi Tomomi
Sakai Masato as Torii Motoichiro
Matsushita Yuki as Kanzaki Chihiro
Okamoto Aya as Suenaga Tamaki
Summary: Kanzaki Jiro is an F3000 test driver blessed with acute sensitivity and breathtaking driving techniques. He's a daredevil who feels no fear driving at speeds that even top racers dare not attempt. But unexpected trouble forces this world-famous racer to leave his team and return to Japan for the first time in years. Until he finds a new job as a racer, Jiro decides to stay with his family. What awaits Jiro there is his hardheaded father, his nagging sister, the 12 children of the foster home his father runs, a snobbish male nurse, and a stubborn female nurse who likes to daydream about her life. Jiro's return home brings a breath of fresh air that influences the people around him. However, he is still unaware that he too will eventually be influenced to change the way he thinks and lives.
Comments: Another Kimu-Taku's drama. His drama is one of the only few which could still have high viewership, though the ratings werent as good as before. His dramas always had a specific job, this time round--racer. However, Engine doesnt really focus on that. Instead, it's more on how Jiro's life had been influenced by the people around him & about friendship, which doesnt need to be long. The kids were interesting, and the scenes with them were quite touching, especially when they had to leave their orphanage & led seperate lives. The plot was above average, but wasnt that interesting, as compared to Good Luck. Kimura acting style was still the same as before-the cool guy, has his own set of thinking, always stand out from others. Though I wont get sick of him, i hope there will be some changes from him la. As for Koyuki, havent seen her other dramas yet. She's alright, though i think Kimura & her lacked chemistry & her character development was limited. FujiTV loves to use english songs as themesongs for Kimura's drama, no exception here. Finally, it's a heart-warming drama, something different from Kimura's past dramas.
Ratings: 8/10 (The plot could be more interesting, maybe more romance factor)

TV Drama Review #17- Hana Yori Dango

Web: http://www.tbs.co.jp/hanayoridango/
Episodes: 9
Year of Telecast/TV Station: 2005 / TBS
Main Cast:
Inoue Mao - Makino Tsukushi
Matsumoto Jun - Doumyouji Tsukasa
Oguri Shun - Hanazawa Rui
Matsuda Shouta - Nishikado Soujirou
Abe Tsuyoshi - Mimasaka Akira
Satou Megumi - Sanjou Sakurako
Matsushima Nanako - Doumyouji Tsubaki
Summary: Makino was a high school student of Eitoku High-home of the super rich kids. Basically she cant fit into the school life coz' she's a commoner, while the others came to school in posh cars and wear branded stuffs. There's this gang "Flower 4" whom everybody respect/afraid. Their leader, Doumyouji was the heir of the Doumyouji Grp. Basically, you will get to see how Doumyouji bullied his schoolmates and how he tortured Makino, who offended him. In the process, Makino fell for Rui whom she thought was different in the grp while Doumyouji fell for her coz' she reminded him of his sister,Tsubaki. Rui on the other hand, likes Todou Shizuka who just came back to Japan but left soon afterwards. A love triangle appeared as Rui returns and stepped in b/w Makino & Doumyouji.
Comments:
I would compared this drama with the TW version in 2001. If you had seen the anime and TW version, the plot was somehow similar. However, it was only 9 epis, so i find the story kinda rush and not detailed enough.
1. Plot - Tw version Meteor Garden was relatively long compared to the Japanese version. I would prefer the tw plot coz it was smooth-going and not so rush. Both plots differed quite abit from the original manga/anime too. The J-version has the part on Makino participating in TOJ contest. As for those who liked HYD, there will be a 2nd season in Japan next winter, so do check it out.
2. Environment/others - I think the J-version's school was much more poshier than the tw version. In the tw version, Eitoku was a university but actually it should be a high sch lah. The classroom in the tw version was kinda worse than my classroom in sg. Wahaha! In the j-version, even the canteen looked stylo lor! Doumyouji's house looked like a castle in the j-version, while tw's version was like a big mansion. I would say they are equally posh to me lah. Besides that, in the tw version, Dao Ming Si drove his own cars, but in j-version, Doumyouji always moves around with his chauffeur lah.
3. Songs - I think Meteor gdn's ost was much nicer compared to HYD. The english oldies were nice while Harlem's "qing fei de yi" & Penny's "Ni yao de ai" were like so famous lor. I guessed Arashi's "wish" doesnt sound that nice ba.
4.Characters
Shan Cai vs Makino : Barbie's acting wasnt very great, but at least the za cao shan cai's character was very convincing. Inoue, on the other hand, seems too chubby for Makino and not "strong" enough to fight F4. To me, Makino seems to be quite afraid of F4 leh. Hahaha! So, overall i think Barbie was more suitable to act as Shan Cai lah.
Dao Ming Si vs Doumyouji: Firstly, wanna clear up something. Dao Ming Si was actually the surname. His name was not 阿寺，but should be 司(tsukasa). So i dont know why the tw version omitted his name. Anyway, Jerry Yen was the best man for this character. In terms of looks, heights, charisma etc..he won Matsumoto Jun (member of Arashi). The weak points for Jerry was his way of talking and his acting. Matsumoto is just not up to the mark lah..
Hua Ze Lei vs Hanazawa Rui:
It was a tough choice b/w the 2. Hahaha! Zai zai's Lei was more on the you yu side. While Oguri Shun was on the handsome but kinda hua hua gong zi type. Basically I think both are up to mark, but perhaps zai zai is better in showing the you yu side of Lei/Rui.
Other 2 F4 members:
I would say Soujiro & Akira were both more handsome than Xi Men & Mei Zuo( Vanness is handsome with short hair) Also, they are more convincing in acting as playboys. Hahaha!
It would be best to have Jerry, Zai zai, Abe & Matsuda as F4 ne! Haha!
Makino's family vs Shan Cai's parents:
Alright..Dong Zhi Chen & Wang Yue were just too perfect!!! The japanese version just lose out completely! Hahahaha!
Dao Ming Zhuang vs Doumyouji Tsubaki:
Matsushima Nanako was just so elegant!!!! Perfect role! Xu Hua Feng was also excellent but she just lost out to Nanako in terms of beauty.
Teng Tang Jing vs Todou Shizuka:
Qian Wei Shan has the Missy look and her role was given more chance to act whereas her japanese counterpart (dunno her name) just looked some models and she only appeared in a few scenes. (guess 9 epis are just not enough!)
Dao Ming Feng vs Doumyouji Kaede:
Equally sucks! But i prefer Dao Ming Feng coz' she got that elegant look. Hehe!
Ratings: 7.5/10 (can't give a higher mark coz' the plot was kinda lacking.)